College basketball: Stanford, Cal seek wins in Oregon
Because numbers don’t lie, it’s obvious Mike Montgomery likes nothing more than a little Duck hunting.
The Cal head coach is 11-0 against Oregon since coming to Berkeley for the 2008-09 season. He’ll try to make it a dozen straight Thursday night when the Bears (10-4) face the 17thranked Ducks (13-1) in Eugene at the Matthew Knight Arena.
It won’t be easy, or at least, it doesn’t figure to be.
Oregon started the season 13-0 and was ranked No. 10 before losing 100-91 to a good Colorado team in Boulder on Sunday. Under head coach Dana Altman, the Ducks are more like peregrine falcons for the way they fly up and down the court in averaging a Division I-best 89.4 points per game, 91.3 at home.
“Obviously, they get up and down the floor as fast as any team in the league,’’ Montgomery said. “It’s primarily because of that little guard ( Johnathan Loyd), who’s so darn fast with the ball. If we give up what we give up, we have a pretty good chance to win.
“If they get what they’ve been getting, they’ll probably win.’’
Cal plays at a pace nowhere near as brisk as Oregon’s but as a result, the Bears are pretty good defensively. Montgomery’s team scores at a 74.2-point clip and allows 66.4 points per game. That’s 69th among 351 Division I schools.
Ayear ago in Eugene, Cal defeated Oregon 4846 on a last-second shot by Justin Cobbs. That Oregon team bears no resemblance to the current one that has three transfers ( Joseph Young, Mike Moser, Jason Calliste) who are among the Ducks’ top four scorers.
“They’re a different team than what we usually see,’’ Cobbs said. “They’re a faster paced team. We usually play slower teams. Their depth is tremendous this year. They have so many guards who can play. They’re a different team, a better team.’’
The answer to that, of course, is defense, Cobbs said.
“Coach (Montgomery) always talks about defense,’’ Cal’s point guard said. “Defense is always something we take pride in.’’
The Bears again will be without small forwards Jabari Bird (ankle) and Ricky Kreklow (wrist) for this game and on Saturday in Corvallis against Oregon State. Cal’s lack of depth was not a detriment in its 69-62 win at Stanford last Thursday but it could be against Oregon.
Off the bench, Cal will look to senior sharpshooter Jeff Powers for perimeter points and freshman Sam Singer as a change of pace at point guard.